Sheep-odor character

It means the distinctive odor of sheep or goats. The early Chinese dictionary 說文解字 glosses it as 羊臭 (“sheep odor”) and explains its form as three 羊, the character for sheep. Its written history includes oracle-bone inscriptions (writing carved on bones used for divination) and bronze forms dated to late Shang and early Western Zhou, followed by examples on writing slips from the ancient state of Chu and in seal script, an old formal style used on seals.

Lexical records also give 羴 two less common historical senses: a flock of sheep and a named grade of snuff, a powdered tobacco taken through the nose. Treat those as context-bound meanings; for the standalone character, start with sheep odor.

Why use 羴 instead of 羶 or 膻?

羴 is a variant; 羶 is the regular form. Keep 羴 when a source, name, or style uses this character. 膻 is another established spelling of the odor word, but it has a different reading in other uses; preserve the exact glyph when transcribing.

How do I type 羴?

Use a Chinese input method by reading or shape. In a Pinyin input method, which uses Latin letters for Mandarin syllables, type shan and select 羴. Cangjie 5 uses TQTQQ; Wubi uses UDUD in version 86 or UUUJ in version 98. Cangjie is useful if you do not know the reading because it selects by shape.

If it appears as a box, the active font may lack the character; a CJK font with broader coverage can display it. Different fonts may draw its strokes differently, but the underlying character remains 羴.